SkillsUSA National Signing Day, Presented by Klein Tools

On May 8, 2019, Klein Tools and SkillsUSA partnered to acknowledge, honor and celebrate high school seniors who have chosen to pursue careers in the skilled trades. National Signing Day 2019 was an opportunity to recognize nearly 3,000 high school seniors nationwide who committed to careers or continuing education in Residential Wiring, Building Trades and Renovations, HVAC or Plumbing. In addition to publicly acknowledging students, National Signing Day was an opportunity to educate the local community, employers and businesses about the skills gap and the benefits of encouraging students to pursue the skilled trades.

By way of background, the skills gap/trade labor shortage is a significant and growing problem in the United States. According to the National Skills Coalition, employers in every state face a shortage of workers to fill jobs that require education beyond high school, but not as part of a traditional four-year college degree. These skilled jobs make up most of the U.S. labor market. It is vital to the stability of the American economy that we educate and inform students and those who influence their career planning about the many benefits a job in the skilled trades can offer, and provide continued support to those students who decide to enter technical school or apprenticeships after high school.

Surrounding the event day, national spokespeople San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppollo and his father Tony, a career electrician and lifelong Klein Tools user, joined local officials, school administrators, industry leaders and in celebrating the participating students an garnering unprecedented coverage for the skilled trades.